Stationery business on rise in Koramangala

Swati, ET BureauSep 2, 2013, 11.19AM IST

(The business of fine writing…)

The business of fine writing instruments is growing in tandem with other luxury segments in Koramangala and its surroundings. ET spoke to Nikhil Ranjan, CEO, William Penn, who sensed a viable demand in India for it. He explains the allure of such products and his clientele. Edited excerpts:

What is William Penn all about?

Nikhil Ranjan: William Penn is India's only, multi-brand retailer of premium and luxury fine writing instruments. Currently William Penn features over 20 well known brands from across the world. William Penn carries top quality men's accessories sourced from the best brands in the world, in its 25 outlets spread across Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Pune, Chennai and Kochi.

What convinced you about the viability of this idea?

Nikhil Ranjan: When William Penn was started in 2002, there was no store for fine writing instruments in Bangalore. A good pen was on your shopping list when you travelled abroad, either for yourself or a gift for family, friends or colleagues. This idea was sown in my mind driven by this need.

When I started William Penn, I did not have any market figures to tell me how big the category was. The market for fine writing instruments has grown dramatically based on the market demand and response to our retail store format.

Is India ready for the high end stores?

Nikhil Ranjan: There are many brands across the lifestyle category, which have been in India for a long time. They have high end stores across all metropolitan cities. Today's urban Indian is well travelled, well read and wants the best that is available. The number of customers, who aspire to carry a good pen from a reputed brand and add the finishing touch to their personal style, is increasing daily. The luxury fine writing instruments market in India is growing at a good pace and in the next few years we expect it to become bigger than the market in Europe.

What are the brands that you stock?

Nikhil Ranjan: We have brands across the spectrum of fine writing instruments. We have luxury brands like Caran d' Ache, Lapis Bard, Mont Blanc, S.T. Dupont, Visconti to the other well known brands like Sheaffer, Lamy, Sailor, Waterman, Cross, Omas, Pennline, Fisher Space, Monteverde, Online, Parker and Rubinato. We also have a range of Limited Edition pens.

Who are your clients? Do you have corporate clients and corporate tie ups for gifting too?

Nikhil Ranjan: Our clientele is predominately men in the age group of 30 to 55 years. We have lawyers, doctors and CEOs who buy our top-end brands. These individuals are conscious of their status in society. Other than these professions, we also have pen collectors who are interested in buying pens to build up their limited editions.

We have corporate clients and have built a strong distribution network across India. We offer customized services to our corporate clients in all the major centers. We have regional offices in Delhi and Mumbai that have a strong corporate culture and we cater to their corporate gifts requirements all round the year. We also cater to the younger style conscious consumer with great value brands like Lamy and Pennline and have stylus pens for the tech savvy as well.

What is the Year on Year growth being registered?

Nikhil Ranjan: Our business has grown rapidly in line with the luxury market in India. We target 25 percent Year on Year growth and haven't been disappointed.

How has the Koramangala market fared?

Nikhil Ranjan: It has lots of corporate offices and educational institutions. All premium brands have their outlets here. This makes it a very important place to have our store in. We have two stores in here. One of them is in Forum Mall, which is frequented by high-end users and people looking to buy gifts during the festive season and for other occasions as well.

Our other store in is a premium stationery plus pens and accessories outlet. With lots of students and artists visiting this store, it acts as an introduction point for them to the world of fine writing instruments. Koramangala allows us to be present in the right place for individuals as well as for corporate buyers.

When did you start the e-commerce platform? How would you compare the e- platform demand against the physical store?

Nikhil Ranjan: Our website www. williampenn.net was formally launched in 2006.We are into the high-end luxury segment and the same is communicated through our stores in terms of their design, layouts, display and the staff. A customer walking in our store, whether new or regular, gets support from our well-trained staff in terms of information and advice in making the right choice. This kind of interaction is not possible on our website.

There is no real time assistant available for our online visitor. This drives us in making our website comprehensive in terms of the information available and allows our customer to make an informed decision about their purchase. E-commerce is a convenient option for people from the cities where William Penn does not have a store and also for those who want to shop from the comfort of their home. There is a rapid increase in the number of unique visitors month on month which drives us to keep on improving our website to provide a similar level of shopping experience as our stores.

Share with us your future plans?

Nikhil Ranjan: William Penn is looking to expand into other cities. We expect to have 2-3 stores more by the end of 2013. We just opened a new store in Kochi, and will have more stores in Ahmedabad, Kolkata and Delhi.